Having won his fourth consecutive drivers' championship, Vettel has received praise for his success from the likes of Felipe Massa and Mario Andretti. However, Alonso believes the nature in which Vettel has won his world titles so far sets him up for a big fall if he isn't able to produce when it is clear he doesn't have the fastest car.

"Time will tell us, but I think when he will have a car like the others, if he wins he will have a great recognition and he will be one of the legends of Formula One," Alonso told the BBC.

"When one day he has the car like the others and he is fourth, fifth or seventh then these four titles will be bad news for him because people will take these four days even in a worse manner than what they are doing now. So there are interesting times for Sebastian coming."